Just in

World Affairs

A pleasant day at Hove County Ground

The sun shone for most of the first day which ended with Sussex in pole position over Middlesex on 354-6. It might have been more but doughty Ali Orr, who looks more of a Ken Barrington than a David Gower, was tragically out for 99 in the last ball before tea. Chet Pujara, who had banked 531 runs [...]

May 6, 2022 // 0 Comments

Recommending & reviewing books

Yesterday I had a conversation with a fellow Ruster who touched upon a theme which I will explore here and now. He was given a book by a friend who enthused over it. The Ruster, who readily admits to being no bibliophile, wondered whether I knew the book in question which I did not. The point [...]

May 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

Fulham crowned champions

Last night – after a 7-0 thrashing of Luton – Fulham were finally crowned Championship champions. I have to confess that I watched the game and the revelry afterwards from the comfort of my sofa. Originally the game was scheduled for 3.00pm then televised by Sky and moved to 5.15pm. [...]

May 3, 2022 // 0 Comments

Sporting issues this weekend

The narrow victory of Northampton Saints (32/31) over Harlequins was enthralling, confirming my view that the most enjoyable sport currently on offer is to be found in the Rugby Premiership. This is subject to one caveat: the uncontested scrum. I checked the rationale for this with Derek Williams. [...]

May 1, 2022 // 0 Comments

Taking account and travelling back

There is a French word bilan which literally means “balance sheet” but is used in the English sense of ‘taking an account’. A few years ago I attended a conference on buying and selling property in France. A French notary caused much laughter in his presentation as he [...]

April 30, 2022 // 0 Comments

TV Review: new sit-com Ten Percent

Modern life as it is experienced by those of us beyond the first flush of youth is a many-sided jewel, involving as it does a combination of looking back upon one’s life and trying to recall incidents and anecdotes from one’s past; marvelling (or becoming baffled and frustrated by) supposed [...]

April 29, 2022 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/restaurant wrap up

Last weekend’s visit to Sanary and Cannes on Monday meant for some visits to some fine restaurants. At Sanary we always go to the Hotel de la Tour whose signature dish is sea bass baked in salt. It’s delicious but leaves you thirsty. Mireille does not hold back on ordering and the final bill [...]

April 28, 2022 // 0 Comments

Putin – no grandmaster at chess

David Niven once gave an interview to Michael Parkinson in which he observed that in Russia the national game was chess and in England it was football, meaning to imply that Russians thought better strategically. If so, Vladimir Putin is a weak chess player. In the 3 most defining moments of a [...]

April 27, 2022 // 0 Comments

Travelling in France and a visit to Cannes

Yesterday Team Rust travelled by rail from Sanary to Cannes to where my late mother’s best friend had moved. We travelled by rail. On arrival at the station at Sanary we had been informed that, due to a strike by maintenance staff, the train would be 20 minutes late. I thought we would miss [...]

April 26, 2022 // 0 Comments

A day at Sanary sur Mer

Yesterday the group spent the day at Sanary sur Mer – a charming port town which borders on the more famous Bandol and is more or less equidistant between France’s biggest port cities of Toulon and Marseilles. It has a literary history. Aldous Huxley and Cyril Connolly lived here and during [...]

April 25, 2022 // 0 Comments

1 46 47 48 49 50 122